High Brew Cold Brew Coffee Mexican Vanilla, reviewed

I like the idea of pre-made ice coffee drinks because I often want a cold, refreshing drink when it’s hot out – and when it is hot out, I usually don’t feel like working too hard to brew iced coffee just to cool down! This means that I keep an eye out for new or interesting iced coffee options. I picked up this High Brew Cold Brew Coffee Mexican Vanilla while on a shopping trip to Target. Their great packaging caught my eye, even among the other coffee drinks in the surprisingly well-stocked coffee aisle.

There were several flavors available, but vanilla is always a favorite of mine and I opted to try it first. The drink had a nice vanilla flavor at the first taste, with a balanced sweetness and a pleasantly creamy consistency. Unfortunately, the drink had a very strong nutty/chocolate flavor that reminded me of bad artificial chocolate flavoring – not of coffee. The can lists “natural flavorings” and I can’t help by wonder if something was added to highlight these notes. The flavor is actively unpleasant and lingers for an exceptionally long time – muddling the flavor of the vanilla on subsequent sips. The can is small, but I found it impossible to finish.

I also wondered whether I was supposed to shake the cane before opening. There was no note on the can to indicate whether I should shake or not, however there was some brown sediment at the bottom of the can (I shook it lightly) that made me think I should have shaken it harder. The other flavors might be better, but I was put off enough by this particular flavor that it might be a while before I give one of their other options a try.